The United States is founded on the principals of freedom from oppression but also of free movement.
Since the first settlers over 500 years ago to the Mayflower through to Independence, onto Operation Paperclip and now to our modern times, it is the flow of all races and creeds and their absorption into the American way that has created the tantalising innovative melting pot of humanity in the country today.
Immigration has had to tighten its belt over recent years due to various factors such as skills surpluses in some areas, unemployment and overpopulation in others and the American people, via their representatives, making the solid point that there are plenty enough carpenters in Buffalo so “why do we need more?”
This is certainly valid but so is the call of the US employer that if for instance they want to branch out to sell to the Asian markets, they need people with experience of that market here on the ground training and working. There is no shortage of marketers but perhaps there is a shortage of people with some of the specific skills a non-US national can naturally bring.
If you feel that Immigration was a hot potato up till now, watch this space. President Elect, Mr Trump, may be stoking this oven very soon. He appears to have listened closely to the former but not the latter argument above and, politics being what it is, must be seen to show that the US is not a free-for-all landing point whilst at the same time maintaining the essential international flavour of international companies.
So it is imperative, as it is in the UK and so many countries, to combat the necessary appeasing of the country’s voters and keep America open for business. I envy him not.
The US has a wide range of schemes available to US employers to enable them to bring over non US nationals either on a temporary or permanent basis.
So here we try to detail the options open to you, the US HR Professional and your employers, to maximise your hiring pool and get the people you need to take your business forward.
1. A
Business Visit (or Business ESTA from some countries) can be useful for business people making sales, conducting negotiations, attending meetings and seeking investments. This is valid for 3 to 6 months.
2. The
H1B Speciality Occupation Worker Visa is for individuals having the equivalent of a US bachelor degree. The H1B visa is usually the most recognised. These are capped and the quotas can initially run out before a year has really got going but plenty of slots hit the market again as so many fail.
The downside of this visa is that the employers must prove the salary scale is correct and also that local workers cannot do the job instead. This does not present a problem but does take a fair time to finalise.
It is recommended that employers engage in the Labor Market Testing process on an almost constant basis to quicken this process. Perhaps it seems this requires a rather prophetic HR Director rather than just good foresight but there are ways to achieve it.
3. Employment Based Preferences (Green Card) contain various sub-sets that allow US employers to take on certain people with or without a US job offer. These include:
- People with extraordinary and outstanding ability and renown
- People with a qualifying US job offer
- People with certain qualifications and education
- Religious Workers
For those requiring a job offer, although there is no specific cap, the Labor Market Tests are still required, which can prolong the process hence suggesting similar advice to the H1B concerning advance planning.
4. Non-US nationals can also acquire a Green Card (and so the right to work) based on their
relationship to a US national. If they are married to a US national for instance they can actually enter the US even prior to being awarded the visa to live and work.
5. The
B1 in Lieu of H1B Visa is a special visa for a non US employer to send an employee in an executive or managerial position or an employee that possesses specialised knowledge or skill to the US to work on a specific contract for a US concern. It does need careful handing but is a useful fast-track visa to get a project underway and completed in the US.
6. If a US company has a branch overseas they can
exchange certain employees between the 2 branches. This is a particularly useful time-saver as Labor Market testing is not required.
7. Similarly, a non-US company can
start a US Affiliate. So perhaps if you wish to bring in a rotation of contractors quickly and regularly, encourage your non-US supplier to start a US office and the process becomes much easier.
8. There is a Visa that deals with
people who have a high level of achievement and ability and such people again do not need to go thru the Labor Market Testing. They do however need to be nationally or internationally recognised in their field and coming to the US to continue that work. Such people can include DJs to Nobel Scientists.
9. There are 2
Treaty Based Visas (The US has a list of countries with which it has treaty agreements). One is for staff to direct and develop import/export trade between the US and the treaty country. The other is for staff to direct and develop investments made in the US by a treaty country national/company.
10. There are special visa for Canadian, Mexican and Australian Nationals, Defense Department Researchers, Fashion Models, Development Project Workers, Nurses, Media Representatives, Athletes, Creative Arts and Entertainers.
11. There are Trainee Visas particularly if the training is not available in the trainee’s home country or practical training programs in the education of children with mental, physical, or emotional disabilities
12. There is a visa for temporary or seasonal work. Limited to citizens or nationals of designated countries
13.
Investors can also come to the US to actively work n an invested project or simply to invest
Many of the above visa types lead to a “Green Card”, which is essentially permanent residence.
Green Card applications do take a long time (apart from the marriage-based option) so once the applicant arrives in the US, you can begin working on the long term project of arranging the green card.
Here at Skillclear, we have been arranging the right to work in the UK, Europe and the US for thousands of skilled people for the last 25 years.
So do please get in touch with us to discuss how you may be able to hire the full range of people for your business.
Our primary goal is to understand exactly what you need and we can then tailor any available options to those needs.
With UK and US Immigration, too much money and time can be lost if application fail and need to be redone.
So let's all get it 100% right first time.
Dom Schunker
Senior Partner
dom.schunker@skillclear.co.uk
0044 (0)845 680 1100 (UK Line)
0044 (0)208 123 9858 (US/Skype Line)
domschunker (Skype)
www.skillclear.com
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